Climbing the Corporate Ladder
by Cloud802
Summary: I was looking forward to my first day working at the Future Foundation. They often take in talents from Hope's Peak Academy to bolster their reputation and capability. I was just supposed to be interviewed, so how did it end up like this?
1. Chapter 1

_Do you ever sit down and think to yourself, "Man, my life is boring compared to all these stories I play, watch, and read"? I do this all the time._

 _It helps keep me grounded, ya know. Everything is just so boring that sometimes I like to shake things up a little._

 _Like just yesterday, I was hanging out with my close friend Johnny, and he wanted to grab a snack, so I decided to pull a little prank._

 _Johnny is allergic to peanut butter. Deathly allergic._

 _So I made sure to dab a little bit on the sandwiches we were making, and wouldn't you know it? Johnny collapsed and suffocated on his own throat._

 _How lame is that? I didn't even get to yell, "Ha! Gotcha!"_

 _Anyways, I guess the lesson you should take away from this is that peanut butter is really dangerous. You should never eat it._

 **Prologue: Making a Killing**

Everyone wanted to work there. A tall building, standing majestically in the center of the city, and at the top of it a giant sign with a single word written in kanji, 'Future'. This company only hired the best and the brightest coming out of places like Hope's Peak Academy. Large, prestigious schools sent out countless applicants, but only a very few were picked among them.

Considering the odds of something like this happening I was tempted to buy a lottery ticket, but I did the math, and the odds of being hired at the Future Foundation are actually a lot higher than winning the jackpot.

I liked learning new things.

Oh, I almost forgot.

My name is Chiaki Nanami, and my ultimate talent is... well, it's kind of silly when you think about it. I'm the Ultimate Gamer.

I actually went to Hope's Peak, and I graduated along with all the friends I made there, but that's not the story here.

After all, this was a very important day for me. I was finally stepping out into the world with my head held high, and I wasn't gonna let anything get me down. I put one foot in front of the other, and I began walking towards the building.

The suit I decided to wear was custom tailored, but it was still slightly uncomfortable. I missed my uniform from the school, and my hoodie.

My fingers twitched and reached for my right pocket, but I clenched my fist and shook my head. I wouldn't make a very good impression if I walked into the building while my nose was buried in a game.

As I approached the building, the glass doors opened automatically, making way for my entrance. A small chime echoed, and a voice sounded over the intercom, "Welcome to Future Foundation. The future is you."

The lobby was rather spacious as lobbies go. A dark, linoleum tile floor giving way to a wall with a fancy oak greeting desk in front of it. On the wall was yet another company logo. Two hallways split from that point, and they both had two elevators on either side. Behind the lobby desk was a frail looking woman. She looked like she'd seen better days. Her brown hair was cut into a short bob, but her skin was pale and she looked rather sick.

I stepped toward the front desk, "Excuse me," I said softly. "I'm here for the interview."

The woman did not look at me. She just... stared off into the distance.

I raised an eyebrow. "Um, excuse me, Miss?"

Again, no response.

I frowned. I was the class rep when I was at school, and it required a lot of patience sometimes. This, however, was starting to wear it thin. I knocked on the desk.

The woman's gaze slowly turned towards me, "Yes... may I help you?" Her voice was monotone. It was almost like she wasn't there.

"Yes, I'm here for the interview. Chiaki Nanami."

"Oh... Nanami-san..." She slowly reached down under the desk and pulled out a small notebook. After flipping through it for a while, she stopped and seemed to just... stare at it. "Yes," she said in that same monotone voice, "I can see you have an appointment right here. Please... excuse me while I... call the manager."

I tilted my head, "Hmmmmm."

Perhaps it would have been better to come back another time. This woman was giving me the chills. Then again, the interview was scheduled for today, and it would be a waste to walk all the way back after coming this far.

Then, just as I thought that, my vision went blurry and I was hit with a sudden dizziness.

Through what little focus I had left I tried to look at the woman, and what I saw made a scream rise from my throat.

Blood was dripping from her eyes, her ears, her mouth...

Her head lolled back and forth and I could hear her whispering under her breath.

I tried to concentrate on what she was saying through the dizziness...

"ChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiakiChiaki..."

"Agh." I stepped back, grasping at my head. What was this? What was happening?

I couldn't make heads or tails of it.

What did I come here for again? The job interview, right?

Then why was...

How...

...

* * *

"...ey..."

"...Hey..."

"Hey... are you alright?"

Reality flickered in and out of my consciousness. I tried to grasp for it, tried to grasp for anything.

"Hey, can you hear me?"

My eyes slowly flickered open, and above me I saw a blurry face. "Who..."

"I'm so glad you're okay."

As the fuzziness left me, I found I was staring up at the most remarkably normal boy I had ever laid eyes on. Yet, for some reason, this made me feel better about what happened in the lobby.

I gasped, "The lobby!" and shot up into a sitting position, forgetting that the poor boy was crouching over me.

Our foreheads collided, and my world went blurry again, this time with extra pain.

I gritted my teeth and brought a hand to my head, "Ow! I... I'm sorry!"

The boy backed away, also tending to his forehead. "D... don't worry about it. Anyone would freak out in this situation."

As the pain subsided, what he said struck me. I let my hands fall to my side and tilted my head, "What situation?"

"Well, for one," he let out a sigh, "We're trapped in a skyscraper, and for two..." he paused, looking around himself, "None of us are sure how we got here."

"Us?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Well, yeah..." he scratched the back of his head, "There's about fifteen of us.

"Sixteen in total including me. That's a rather round number," I muttered.

He nodded, "Well, no one else is on this floor but you and me. We had a plan to split up and search for someone, and I found you."

"Wait, what floor are we on, exactly?"

"The tenth floor.."

"Hmmmm." I brought a finger to my chin and thought for a moment. I tried to retrace the steps of how I got here.

I woke up at exactly 7 AM, talked to my parents and my little brother about the application getting accepted, then I ate breakfast, got dressed in the suit that was ready and left, my GameGirl tucked firmly into my pocket in case of emergencies. I took the 9 AM train downtown, then walked a few blocks to get to the Future Foundation HQ.

When I walked into the lobby everything looked normal enough... except for the strange woman behind the desk. I tried talking to her, but she wouldn't respond to me at all. Then when I finally got her attention, she pulled out a log book and confirmed I was supposed to be there.

Then...

Nothing.

Wait...

I remembered her bleeding.

"Sorry," said the boy, interrupting my thoughts, "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Hajime. Hajime Hinata."

"Oh. I'm Chiaki Nanami. It's nice to meet you. Can you do me a favor Hajime?"

"What is it?"

"I want you to come with me to the lobby. There's something down there that I need to check."

"Hmmm. I think that'll be kind of tough."

"Why?"

"Well, the elevators aren't working, and everything below the 5th floor seems to be blocked."

"I see. So someone is trying to limit our movement."

Hajime blinked in shock, "You seem awfully calm. I freaked out when I found out what was going on."

"The best thing to do in a situation like this is remain calm. If you become unnecessarily stressed or worried it can only cause trouble." I stood, dusting off my suit with a deep breath and started taking in my surroundings. The hall we were in was a lot like the halls that lead to the elevators on the lobby floor. This one was rather long, and wooden doors were evenly spaced along both sides. Perhaps they were offices. "We should find a map, or draw one. We need to know the layout of the building we're in before we can do anything else. We also need to know if the stairs going down below the fifth floor are the only ones that are blocked. Perhaps some of the higher floors are off limits as well."

Hajime nodded, "Yeah, that was another thing we were working on."

"Weapons, too."

"Wh... why would we need weapons?"

"In a survival horror game like this, you need certain essentials. A map is the first priority, and then something to defend yourself with."

"W... wait, hang on. This isn't exactly a game."

"Hmmm. Yeah, you're right, but it's how I view things. Besides, wouldn't you agree that it's important?"

"I... guess so."

I was about to inquire about our survivability; food, water, places to sleep, but I was rudely interrupted by a shout. "Hey, what are you doing on this floor Hajime!?"

I turned to look at the voice, and at the end of the hallway, in the middle of rounding the corner with a scowl on her face, was a girl about my age. She was wearing what looked like an unorthodox Hope's Peek Academy uniform, and her hair was strawberry blonde, tied into twin tails with two white bobs.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"Don't worry, she's a friend of mine. Kind of on the grumpy side, though, so watch out." He turned towards said friend, "Junko, we agreed to one person a floor!"

"Yeah, and this is my floor!"

I tilted my head. She seemed rather... exuberant.

In less than a second, she turned to me and gave me a beaming smile, "And who's this cutie that you managed to get following you around?"

"H... hello. I'm Chiaki Nanami. I was supposed to start work today, but then I saw someone bleeding from their face and woke up here."

Her eyes widened, "You saw what?"

Hajime gave me an odd look. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell him why I wanted him to check the lobby with me. "I turned in my application here a week ago, and yesterday I got a call to come in for an interview. When I got here there was a woman behind the desk that looked sick and was acting odd. She checked to make sure I had an appointment, and after confirming that I did I started to get dizzy. When I looked back to the woman she was bleeding from her eyes, ears, and mouth. That's the last thing I remember."

Junko looked horrified, "Th... that's... you're joking, right?"

"I didn't get your last name," I said.

"Who the hell cares about that right now!? You saw someone bleed to death!?"

Hajime leaned towards me, "It's Enoshima."

I nodded, then pondered for a moment. "I tried to get Hinata-kun to check the lobby with me, but apparently none of the elevators are working and the stairs are blocked off. How are they blocked off, exactly?"

Junko sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Well, there's just... nothing there. It's a wall. It's like there were never any stairs to begin with."

"I'd like to see this wall."

"I'll take her with me," said Junko, "You stay here Hajime, since you stole my floor."

Hajime sighed and shook his head, "Are you sure you got the right floor?"

"Sh-shut up!"

Without another word, Junko walked off the way she came. I gave a small wave and smile to Hajime as I trailed behind her. I wasn't very good with people, but it seemed like these two got along well. I kind of envied that.

We entered the stairway that was around the corner of the hall, "Well," said Junko, "don't be too shocked by what you see down here," she said with a grin.

"Isn't it just a wall?" I asked as we started our descent.

"I guess if you put it that way, yeah it's just a wall, but you'll see when you get there. It's... weird."

"So... how long have you known Hajime?" I asked.

"A couple years now," she said with a sigh. "I thought he was just some boring guy when we first met, but he actually turned out to be pretty entertaining."

Boring? Entertaining? Those were two words I rarely heard used to describe someone's relationship with people. "Do you rank your friends by how boring they are?"

Her face went red, "N-no!"

Nail meet head. I let out a small laugh, "It's fine. I just thought it was interesting."

We descended the rest of the way together, and what I saw was something that was ever so simple to someone like me, who played games, and at the same time something I couldn't bring myself to believe.

On the wall there was a large and haphazard phrase written in red. I was not sure if it was paint or blood, but the message was terrifying, either way.

 **'kIlL 1 tO COnTinUE'**

* * *

 _Hello again everyone. I hope you're having a good time._

 _Wasn't that shocking? I bet you weren't expecting at least a few of those things._

 _Shock is healthy for the heart, you know. When you get a shock or a scare you become more conditioned to avoid them in the future._

 _The killer bursting out of the closet has less effect on you in the third movie than it did in the first._

 _It's hard to keep a series fresh, especially if it's a horror movie or a slasher flick._

 _That's why you should make no more than three, and make sure you have a shocking swerve that the audience isn't expecting each time!_

 _Speaking of trilogies, aren't they just perfect? 1, 2, 3. There's no need for anything in between like 2.5, or more than one third entry. Something weird like adding a random letter before the number 3 is so lame!_

 _Even going so far as having the finale be a TV show if the series is a game..._

 _What was I talking about again?_

 _Anyway, thanks for listening!_

* * *

"What is... this?"

The question slipped from my mouth involuntarily. It was more of a muscle spasm than me saying anything. I couldn't help it, like the twitch of a finger or a natural smile.

Only this was much less mundane, and much, much worse.

Junko could only shrug, "It is what it is. Some sick bastard trapped us in here, and now we have to play their little game."

I brought a finger to my chin, "Windows? Fire escapes?"

"Nothing is opening if that's what you're asking, and the windows are that weird plastic shit that's really hard to break."

Speaking of windows. "How does it look outside?"

"You mean in the streets? So far as we can tell no one's the wiser. Cars driving by, people going to the subway."

"Isn't that strange, Junko-san?"

"F... first name already!?"

"Think about it," I said firmly. "Wouldn't people be coming in and out of the building? Many people work here, and even some people who don't still have business here. This is the Future Foundation we're talking about. Everything from pharmaceuticals to military grade weaponry is produced by this company. This is the main headquarters, and there's not a single soul here."

Junko nodded and rubbed the back of her head, "Yeah, now that you mention it... it is really weird."

"I think we should meet up with the others," I said. "I need to meet everyone, and we need to make absolutely sure of what's going on. Otherwise..." I stopped, not even willing to say it.

Junko glared. "Do you really think anyone would be stupid enough to kill someone because of this? How would they even remove the wall? It looks like solid concrete."

"I just... have a really bad feeling about all this. We need to come together as a group and focus on escaping. Speaking of which... what's your talent?"

"My talent?"

"Yeah, that's a Hope's Peak uniform, isn't it?"

"Oh... yeah. Heh." She scratched her cheek, and her face went slightly red, "I'm the Ultimate Analyst."

I tilted my head, "Really?"

"It doesn't really fit my looks, does it?" she said with a sigh, "That's what everyone says."

I shook my head, "No, I think it's amazing to have a talent like that. It actually makes perfect sense for you to look the way you do, since you would be able to know what the majority of the public finds appealing."

She gave a small smile, "Th... thanks."

"I'm the Ultimate Gamer. It's not as amazing as yours, but there's no game I can't beat."

Junko's eyes lit up, and she grinned, "Hang on, that's actually perfect." She slapped the wall, her red nails slightly scratching against it, "If this is some sort of screwed up game, you can help find us a way out."

I nodded with a smile, "See, this is why we need to come together. For example, if the two of us were to combine our talents we might be able to catch whoever is behind this by surprise."

"Alright, let's get everyone and..."

 ***Ding Dong Bing Bong***

Something was wrong.

Junko and I both looked up.

I brought a finger to my chin. "Did that... come from the building's intercom system?"

 _"Ahem. Testing, one two one two. Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Dooooo."_

The voice over the intercom sounded like it was coming from some cutesy mascot character. It wouldn't have surprised me to hear it in a commercial or a children's cartoon.

However, there was something off about it. When I heard it, it felt like a thousand insects crawled up my back, and I couldn't help but shiver. Whoever was behind that intercom was not our friend. I could tell that much.

 _"Welcome to Future Foundation! The future is you! Upupupu! Did I sound pretty cool there?"_

I could almost hear Junko grinding her teeth. "I'm gonna find this asshole and..."

 _"Would everyone please proceed to the tenth floor of the building and meet in the conference room? I have a veeerrrry important announcement to make. Upupupupu! Make sure not to start the fun without me."_

"This must be him," I said softly. "The one who trapped us here."

The blood drained from Junko's face, "What if we go there and he just... kills all of us?"

I shook my head and tapped my pointer finger on the very wall that we had come to see, and the message inscribed on it. "Whoever put us here had us at their mercy. If they wanted to simply kill all of us they could have done it a long time ago. Why would they go to all the trouble of setting this up if they didn't want us to play?"

Junko took a deep breath and nodded, "Y-yeah, you're right." She closed her eyes, and took another deep breath.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I need to calm down and put my talent to use. I would have realized something easy like that if I actually had my head on straight. For now we should do what he says. After that, we can come up with a plan."

I nodded, "That sounds good."

The council room was full of people by the time we got there. A short girl in a gothic lolita dress, a boisterous looking man in a yellow jumpsuit, and a woman with elegantly styled blonde hair and a beautiful dress were among the first to catch my eye. Then I saw Hajime, and decided to give him a small wave.

He waved back, and before I could get a look at anyone else, it started.

The group of sixteen people turned towards the front of the conference room, and standing there, in a spot that a second before had been empty, was a teddy bear.

It looked strange. It was monochrome, black and white on both its halves, and the black half had a strange and glowing red eye. It didn't look much like an eye, actually, but it was in the position to be one.

He was staring at all of us, and then... he spoke.

"Upupupu! What do you all think of my new business?! People are all hyped up about Hope's Peak academy, but that's old hat. The Future Foundation is where dreams really come true!"

"Hey! Shut the hell up and tell us why we're here!"

I looked at where the voice came from, and across the table was a rather short looking boy dressed in a very nice suit. His hair was cut very short, and he wore an eye patch with a dragon on his right eye. Flanking his side was yet another girl around my age, long silver hair tied in braids, and a sword case slung over her shoulder.

"This is bullshit!" screamed the boy. "All I was supposed to do is come here and get a god damn package! Is this some kind of a fucking setup!? Is it some stupid test for me or something!?"

The girl laid a hand on his shoulder and frowned, "Young Master, please calm yourself. It's unbecoming to..."

"Tch." He turned away, finally seeming to calm down... somewhat, at least.

The 'bear' growled. "I was juuuust about to get to that before I was so RUDELY interrupted! Sheesh, can't even get a cooperative audience anymore! It's like trying to pull teeth I swear!" He sighed and put his hands... (paws?) behind his back, shaking his head, "It's so hard for a bear to get respect these days."

He perked back up. "Anyways! I'm sure you all noticed that little wall in the staircase."

I stepped forward, "Um, yes... is there any chance you could tell us what that wall is made of?"

"I'm not talking about the wall! I'm talking about the message on it!"

Darn, he didn't bite. Whoever this was, they knew what they were doing. 'Perhaps I can get him to slip up some other way,' I thought.

"Upupupupu, you're not getting me to talk this early on. You have to earn it."

Junko stepped forward. "This isn't just some remote controlled bear," she said softly. "Its eye..."

The bear's gaze fell on Junko, "Of course I'm no ordinary bear! I'm Monokuma!"

"Where did you get equipment like that?" asked Junko through gritted teeth.

"Upupupu, you have a sharp eye, young lady. You better not cause any trouble by solving he mystery before it even gets started. Now! No more interruptions! I'm going to lay down the law, and you all better be listening because there's no second chances in Monokuma Inc.!"

Monokuma spread his arms wide, "Welcome to the Corporate Ladder of Killing!"

"What is the meaning of this?" A sharp voice from behind me popped up, and when I turned to look, it was another suit wearer. This one was much taller, however, and he had a sharp face and wore glasses. "I am not here to play your sick games. I have nothing to do with any of these people!"

"Upupupupu, that's where you're wrong. You see, everyone in this room now has everything to do with each other, because you're all trapped here, unless..."

The blonde girl in the beautiful dress was the next to speak, "U-unless?"

"Unless you can follow basic instructions, upupupu."

Junko slammed her hand on the conference table, "Hang on, you want us to kill each other to get out?!"

Monokuma tilted his head and brought a paw up to his chin, "Hmmm? You don't want to play?"

"This doesn't make sense," said Junko. "You lock us inside a building and expect us to kill each other to get out. The fire escapes are locked and the windows are tough to break, but not impossible. There are any number of things in this building that would let us get out of here with no issue, and yet you want us to kill each other? All it would take is breaking a window and screaming for help."

I nodded. Junko was completely right. In fact, probably the only reason they hadn't done so is because the situation had yet to grow dire enough for them to attempt something so insane. But now? Now it was different.

"You really expect us to do this?" continued Junko. "Have you actually thought this through at all?"

"Upupupupu, so many holes to plug, so little time. I wouldn't break the windows if I were you. I have a special punishment prepared for anyone who does." Once more, he looked straight at Junko and spoke, his voice ever so slightly lower than it was before, "After all, all it would take is one little push from little ol' me and you'd tumble down all the way to the ground."

"The odds of surviving a five story fall are slim," Junko conceded. "So basically, what you're saying is that you're keeping an eye on the whole building, and you could easily make it to any floor in a short amount of time. Your threat implies that you're heavily monitoring us."

'Hey,' I thought, 'She's right.'

I could have sworn I heard Monokuma growl, "What are you..."

Junko continued, "The building has surveillance cameras on each floor, one at the corner of each hallway, one in all the offices, one in the break rooms, even one here in the conference room. This would imply that whoever is holding us here..." she shot a sharp glare at Monokuma, "Has enough influence and power to shut down an entire building, as well as somewhere safe to monitor the results of their little game. No rescue attempt has been made, so it's safe to say that whoever put us here has effectively cut the building off from the outside world. This also implies influence over police, media, perhaps even the government. For someone who set up such an elaborate killing game..." this time she grinned, "You're very boring, aren't you?"

"Quit stealing all my lines!" shouted Monokuma.

I smiled at Junko when I realized she had been prodding him for information. She probably realized they had certain rules we were meant to follow, including not trying to escape.

"H-hang on..." another voice piped up. This time it was the boy in the yellow jumpsuit, "So when I was trying to break that window, you would have pushed me out of it if I managed to do it? That's not cool! Why would you do that!?"

Monokuma sighed, "Because such an easy solution would be bad. Upupupupu, you're lucky you weren't successful. Seeing you smeared on the ground might have been funny." He shook his head, "Such an unruly batch of children. I'll need to keep a close eye on all of you. I guess I should explain the rules to all of you, since otherwise you might ruin the whole thing.

"On each floor descending to the lobby there will be an obstacle. On this obstacle there will be instructions on how to remove it. The first one is easy, one of you must kill another to proceed. Simple, isn't it? Kind of like a board game, rolling the dice, killing, not much of a difference."

"That's bullshit!" shouted the boy with the eye patch, "I'm not killing someone who didn't fucking do anything to me! Are you out of your mind!?"

"Upupupu, I've supplied the break rooms in this building with a lot of food, and I've even prepared a rather comfy sleeping quarters for you, but the question is... how long will the supplies I've given you last?"

The boy fell quiet at this.

"So that's it," I said softly, "We either play the game, or we starve to death."

This was one game I had never intended on playing. Too many unknown factors, too many risks. I had no intention of killing anyone, but could I say that when we start running low on food? Could anyone? For that matter, none of us knew each other. I had just been introduced to Hajime and Junko, and I still barely knew anything about them.

When I thought about it like that... it was inevitable, really. Someone was going to die here.

"Upupupupupu, one more thing. There's a way out without doing all five steps. A cheat code."

My ears perked at those particular words, "What kind of cheat code?" I asked.

"The first challenge is meant to kickstart things, and you're about to find out why. Say one of you kills someone, you will become the Blackened of the group."

Junko raised an eyebrow, "Blackened?"

"Yes. When a killing occurs I will give you time to investigate. You should use it wisely, because we'll be holding trials. During the trial, if you successfully identify the Blackened they will be executed. However... upupupupupu, if you cannot find the Blackened I will instead kill the rest of the group, and the Blackened will go free."

My heart started racing.

This was insane. I knew the situation was bad, but this? This was pure malice.

Pure despair.

Take a bunch of strangers, lock them in a prison, and then tell them all they have to do to be free is murder each other.

"Upupupupupu, have fuuuun. Oh, and don't forget to check the board behind me, it has all the rules you need to follow written on it."

Just as quickly as he had appeared, Monokuma vanished.

The room was deathly quiet.

No one screamed.

No one shouted.

No one said a word.

And the silence was the worst thing that could have happened.

Then, before I realized it, the words were leaving my mouth. "We... we need to work together! I'm sure if we put our heads together there's gotta be a way out of here. I won't let anyone die!"

Everyone turned towards me, and the boy with the eye patch raised his eyebrow, "Huh? Who the hell are you?"

Oh crap I forgot to introduce myself.


	2. Chapter 2

"Junko Enoshima, age sixteen, talent... Ultimate Analyst."

Junko sat across from a man with a balding head, in a very small room with very little lighting, a metal table in between them. It made her extremely uncomfortable that she couldn't see anything. She knew this was done on purpose. They loved toying with people, giving them itches that they can't scratch, questions with no real answer.

"So, we've been keeping a close eye on you," the man continued, flipping through a file. "I have to say, we're rather impressed." He set the file down on the table and leaned forward, a smile on his face, "Me in particular. It says here that you predicted the outcome of every game of baseball that the school has taken part in. Not only that, but you've even analyzed the behaviors of your fellow classmates to a ludicrous degree. So this begs the question..."

Junko turned her head to the side, scoffing under her breath. She knew what he was going to ask, but it still annoyed her.

"Why are you always going to the reserve building? Surely you have many friends in your own class that would..."

"Because they're boring. Kind of like you."

The man leaned forward, "And why do you say that?"

"The schoolwork is too easy, the teachers drone on and on about problems when they only have to say something once, and everyone has their head stuck up their ass about their talents. It's boring."

The man raised an eyebrow.

Junko leaned forward, a smile gracing her lips, "Boooorrrrring. It's all so boring that I could just die."

"That is... odd." The man was becoming uncomfortable, Junko could tell. Everyone became like this around her when she was honest with them.

Everyone... except him.

 **Chapter 1: Junko's Despair House**

 **Daily Life 1**

"Um... Hello everyone. I'm Chiaki Nanami, the Ultimate Gamer. I just graduated from Hope's Peak High and I was hoping I could come work here, but..."

"You ended up stuck here with us instead."

That was a new voice. I looked to see who it was, and standing by the girl in the gothic outfit was a rather rotund man. He pushed his glasses up further onto his nose, "I'm Hifumi Yamada! The Ultimate Doujin Artist!"

Doujin? Oh dear.

I could already feel the heat rising to my face, "Th...that's..."

"Disgusting, isn't it?" Asked the girl next to him. "Celestia Ludenburg, the Ultimate Gambler."

I smiled, bowing my head to hide the blush, "I... I didn't say it was disgusting."

Hifumi beamed, "Nanami-chaaaaan!" Only to be elbowed in the side by Celestia.

"Please be quiet," she growled.

I peered past the two of them, and saw the tall man in the suit and glasses staring hard at the white board that Monokuma had pointed us to. "Um, excuse me, what's your..."

He only scoffed at me. "I don't have time to play along with your platitudes."

I was surprised when a sound of ecstasy came from the short girl next to him.

'More glasses,' I thought.

"Master doesn't have t-to take lip from anyone!" she shouted.

Oh dear oh dear.

He turned to her and shot a sharp glare. "I remember telling you to remain silent for the duration of this meeting."

"Ahhhhn~!"

I bowed my head even lower this time, and felt an arm lean on my shoulder. When I turned to who possessed this arm I was met with a grinning Junko. "Don't worry about those two. They've always been like that. The tall brooding prince is Byakuya Togami. He's the Ultimate Affluent Progeny, and heir to the Togami line. If there's one thing my analysis tells me about him, it's that even the way he walks makes him look like he has a stick up his ass."

I tried to prevent myself from laughing, and a very unladylike snort came from my nose instead.

Byakuya scoffed at the joke and walked out of the conference room, his short, weird, and oddly cute tag-along tailing behind him. "Who's the girl?"

Junko laughed under her breath, "The girl... yeah she's a weird one. That's Toko Fukawa. You don't need my talent to tell you how strange she is. She's the Ultimate Writing Prodigy. Apparently she wrote a romance novel so steamy that Japanese fishermen rose to the top of the 'Hottest Guys' list three years in a row."

"Amazing. She seemed... attached to Togami-san," I said softly.

Junko giggled, "Girl you don't know the half of it."

I looked over at the corner of the room by the door that Byakuya and Toko had just exited out of, and saw another pair. The boy in the yellow jumpsuit, and the blonde girl in the beautiful dress. The boy caught my gaze, and he flashed me a grin... a very sharp grin.

I supposed he looked friendly enough. "Yo! I'm Souda Kazuichi. Ultimate Mechanic! Nice to meet ya!"

The girl turned to me as well, giving me a small bow and a smile that lit up the room. "I am Sonia Nevermind, princess of the Novoselic Kingdom, a small European country. It is very nice to meet you Chiaki Nanami. I hope we become the best of friends!"

I couldn't help but smile at that.

Junko pulled away from me and put her hands on her hips with a grin, "Sonia there is the best Princess I've ever seen. That's not saying much, though. I haven't seen many Princesses. Though... her talent IS the Ultimate Princess."

"It seems like you know everyone here," I said.

She gave a firm nod, the smile never leaving her face. "That's because everyone here is a graduate of Hope's Peak. They're all my senpais."

"Wow. No wonder they all have talents. Wait, what about Hinata-kun?"

Junko sighed and her arms fell to her side, "Hajime is..."

"I don't have a talent," said Hajime from the other side of the table. "I was a Reserve Course student. Just a normal guy going to high school."

"I see..." I brought a finger to my chin, "So how did you meet Junko-chan?"

Junko's face went red, "My first name and now this!?"

Hajime laughed and waved off his friend's erratic behavior. "We bumped into each other on the way to school. Not really anything amazing."

Junko sighed, "Whatever," she said under her breath, "That's not the way I see it."

I smiled at Junko, "You really care about Hinata-kun a lot, don't you?"

If her face was red before, it was blazing now. "I... I never said that!"

Leaving Junko to her flimsy denials I turned back to the group, and before I could say anything to anyone I was bombarded by a hug.

"Ibuki likes cute things! You're cute!"

"M-Mioda-chan, y-you can't do that... Um, um... Please forgive us."

When I got my bearings I realized I had been tackled by a mass of purple, black, and white. Not to the ground, but still. It was surprising, to say the least. Behind the mass of color there was another girl in a custom nurse's uniform, wringing her hands and bawling her eyes out.

"Please don't cry," I said with a smile, "I don't mind. The more we get along the better our chances are of getting out of this."

I was finally released from the hug, and let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding.

"I'm Ibuki Mioda, the Ultimate Musician!"

The girl behind her stepped forward, still wringing her hands. "I-I'm Mikan Tsumiki, the Ultimate Nurse. Pl-pleased to meet you... I'm sorry!"

I gave her another soft smile and stepped forward to pat her on the head. She flinched at first, then blinked in confusion.

"There," I said, "All better."

Mikan smiled, blushed, and then walked away.

"Hahaha! Ibuki has never seen THAT before! Good job Chiaki-chan!"

A moment later, the foul mouthed boy with an eye patch walked towards me, his obvious bodyguard trailing behind him. "Hey, girl! What you said back there..."

I tilted my head, "Hm?"

"Did you really mean it?"

The girl behind him stepped forward. "Young Master, I cannot..."

"Shut up!" growled the boy, "And stop calling me that. Fuyuhiko is just fine!"

"Y-yes."

"Alright then." Fuyuhiko's focus came back to me. "That crap you were spouting off before about everyone working together and getting out of this mess... did you really mean it?"

I nodded. "I did, yes. Junko-chan and I discussed it in the stairwell. We think it would be best if everyone was able to come together and work as a unit." I eyed the door of the conference room, "It seems like some people will be hard to convince."

"Tch. Forget about that asshole. Count us in. You and this Junko chick seem like you've got good heads on your shoulders. I'm Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, the Ultimate Yakuza, and this is my friend Peko Pekoyama, the Ultimate Swordswoman. Nanami, right?"

"Yes, it's nice to meet you."

Peko just stared at me, not saying a word.

Junko chuckled, "There's no need to size her up, Senpai. She wants to help."

"I will reserve judgement," said Peko.

Fuyuhiko rolled his eye, "Take a break Peko. Worrying is bad for your complexion."

I let out a breath. "Now, who's left?"

Junko pointed to a man standing by himself in the corner away from the door. He was tall, and his hair was done in dreads. It seemed he was looking deeply into some kind of orb. I approached him slowly, and tapped him on the shoulder.

He almost jumped out of his skin. "GAH! I haven't seen the tax records, I swear!"

"Um... are you okay?" I asked.

"Oh, hey there." He grinned, "Yep, fit as a fiddle. I'm totally fine."

"I'm Chiaki Nanami. What's your name?"

"Yasuhiro Hagakure, at your service! My friends just call me Hiro. Hey, do you want your fortune told? First ones a freebie."

"Hmmm, okay. If it's free I don't see why not."

"Need your hand." I nodded and held out my hand. Palm reading, huh? "Okay let's see here..." He stared down at my palm for what felt like forever, then finally, "Alright, looks like your love life is going to take a turn for the better very soon!"

I raised an eyebrow, "That's it?"

He shrugged, "Hey I don't have any of my other stuff at the moment, that's all I can give you. That'll be a thousand yen," he said with a grin.

Junko dragged me away from him before things could get out of hand, "Alright that's enough of that. No cons here."

"That was a con?" I asked. "I wasn't going to pay him."

"That may be, but he's too pushy for his own good. He's supposedly the Ultimate Clairvoyant, but I don't think his heads on straight enough for his fortunes to be useful to anyone. Now that you've met him, that just leaves..." Junko scanned the room for a moment, then pulled me towards another pair of people.

One of them was a very pretty girl with long blue hair, and the other a tough looking guy in a baseball uniform. "Hello," I said, "I'm..."

"Chiaki Nanami right?" asked the girl with a smile. "I heard you talking to everyone. What you're doing is very brave. Some people here know each other, but you're pushing yourself to talk to all these strangers after..." She paused, then let out a sigh and looked down at the ground, "I'm sorry, this is just really stressful."

"That's alright!" shouted the boy next to her, "We'll watch each other's backs, just like Nanami said! By the way, my name's Leon Kuwata, I'm the Ultimate Baseball Star. I kinda wanna quit, though."

"I'm Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Idol."

"Hey, I've heard of you," I said with a smile, "I don't listen to much idol music, but it's hard not to see your face everywhere. I'm glad I got to meet you."

Sayaka flushed a bit, and let out a small laugh, "I always like hearing that. Thank you, and... good luck. We're all going to need it."

I nodded in agreement.

Alright, now that I knew everyone, the next step was...

"Monokuma mentioned living quarters, and that the break rooms have food. We should check the floors again."

Junko held up a peace sign and grinned. "Leave the food to me. I can make a list of everything we have and how long it'll last in no time. I can also make a rationing schedule." With that, she exited the conference room.

I appreciated her for volunteering for something like that. She was perfect for it, but it must have been dreadfully boring.

This was all busy work, and maybe it was meant to distract us from what was going on, but it was something to do. I sighed. "I should probably read those rules before we start that, huh? I'll leave the food to Junko-chan. We can check out where we're supposed to be sleeping later."

"About that," said Fuyuhiko. "The floor I had to check looked like it's been tampered with."

"Which one is that?" I asked.

"The ninth," he said, "The one below us right now. There are no offices, and there's two doors leading to pretty big areas. I'm guessing that's where our kidnapper wants us to sleep. You should check it out when you get the chance."

"I'll do that."

With everything sorted I decided to take a look at the white board that Byakuya had been staring so intently at earlier. There were a handful of rules written on it, and in the corner was a small drawing of Monokuma himself, looking dreadfully cheerful.

"Just like a game," I whispered to myself.

 **1\. You are an employee of Monokuma Incorporated. Please behave as such. Breaking and entering locked doors will not be tolerated, and is grounds for immediate termination. Please do not break other company property unless using it to become the Blackened.**

 **2\. Each time a goal is cleared for the floor whoever is left will earn a promotion. This includes access to the lower floors and more facilities. Please keep in mind that in order to access the fourth floor you must successfully identify the first Blackened. Make us proud!**

 **3\. Everything above the fifteenth floor is off limits. You are free to explore floors fifteen and under at your discretion, and with no limitations except the goals. The exception to this rule is the rooftop, where the trials to find the Blackened will take place.**

 **4\. When you kill, you will become the Blackened. If you are not identified during the trial, you will earn an ultra promotion and gain complete access to the first fifteen floors of the Monokuma building. You will also be free to leave whenever you wish. The remaining employees will be subject to immediate termination.**

 **5\. When a killing takes place the employees will be given an allotted time to investigate it. Gather evidence, prepare your arguments, and be ready for the trial. If the group is able to identify the Blackened they will be subject to immediate termination, and the rest of the group may continue playing and attempt to reach the bottom floor.**

I could feel my stomach churning. I knew before that this situation was terribly real, but all those rules did to me was bash the point further into me. A slight worry started to grow inside me.

What if I failed?

What if I let everyone down?

What if someone here was willing to do what I would never do?

What if we ran out of food and supplies, and I became desperate enough to discard my morals?

What if I couldn't trust anyone here?

What if I couldn't trust Junko and Hajime, who had been so helpful and friendly to me even though they didn't know me?

Perhaps it was what the kidnapper wanted, but I couldn't help having these thoughts. The best thing I could do was push them down into the recesses of my mind, and keep moving forward with everyone.

Even if the worst happened, even if someone decided to play this game, I would keep walking, and I would keep trusting my new friends.

It was the only thing I could do.

* * *

 _Don't you hate it when your favorite series just kills off a major character for no reason?_

 _I know I do._

 _Like this show I've been watching, Super Mega Ranger Z. It starts with this great guy named the X-Lord who just wants to take over the world. The show focuses on his attempts to get the world to kneel before him and his mighty army of X-Bots._

 _There's this group of unruly teenagers that keep getting in the way of this guy's dream, and they call themselves the Super Mega Rangers. They're all really annoying villains._

 _But anyway, at the end of the second season the X-Lord is blown up by the villains! How stupid is that?_

 _All he wanted was world domination, and those evil kids spat all over his dream._

 _I really, really hate it when major characters get killed off for no good reason._

* * *

I found Junko and Hajime on the 8th floor. The floor was lined with offices much like the tenth, but there was no conference room at the center, simply a large room with cubicles. The break room itself was in the far corner, tucked away behind all the offices. Just to be sure, I checked the doors on my way to it.

Every single one was unlocked and led to a small office with a desk, computer, and filing cabinet. The windows like on all the other floors, were made of the same safety material that was very difficult to break.

The windows showed me it was getting dark outside.

"What I wouldn't give for some classic safety glass," I muttered. "Maybe we'll get lucky and find out that the company cut corners somewhere. A loose hinge here, a cheap window there."

I finally reached the door to the break room, and when I opened it I was rather impressed. It was pretty spacious as far as break rooms go, a wide open area with several square tables and chairs to go with them. In the far right corner from the door were counter tops, cupboards a sink, a few fridges, a microwave, and even a stove.

In the center of the room, at a single table, sat Junko Enoshima and her obvious crush Hajime Hinata.

I smiled and waved hello as I approached them and sat down, "So how's it look?" I asked.

Junko shrugged, "Eh, could be better, could be worse. All in all we have a few months worth of food and drink. The problem is making sure everyone sticks to rationing."

"I'm sure you'll be just fine," said Hajime.

Junko rolled her eyes, "Boooorrring. It's going to send me into despair it's so boring." She yawned and leaned onto the table. "I hope we can find a way out or something. It's stupid just sitting around not being able to do anything."

Hajime smiled and leaned back in his chair, "I'm sure you'll find something to do. Maybe there's some entertainment around here somewhere. Books, movies, games."

"All boring." She waved her hand to the side as if to shoo something away, "You know it's not that easy for me Hajime."

Hajime let out a sigh, "Yeah, yeah, I know."

I tilted my head, "What's that mean?"

Junko sprang up once more, an almost manic grin on her face now, "It means I'm totally fucked up."

Hajime smirked. "Junko's talent makes it... hard for her to be entertained by anything."

She laughed. "I play the video game, I predict the ending, I see the boss' moves. I read the book and I know who the murderer is a quarter of the way through. I watch the movie and I can almost always predict who's going to die and who isn't. I do the thing, the thing is boring, I stop doing the thing, and I find a new thing."

"That must be rough," I said. "I mean, I have several games that are my favorites, and I can always go back and play them. It's never the same as the first time playing it, though. What you have to deal with must be that feeling of losing the new experience times a hundred, no, maybe even a thousand."

Junko sighed, "I've learned to just cope with it, to be honest. You know the one thing I usually can't predict?"

"What's that?" I asked.

"People. People are fucked up, just like me." She leaned back in the chair, kicking her legs up and resting them on the table. "Sure, I can easily see the actions someone is going to take according to their character. I can play them like a fiddle. I mean, if I was the bad guy in this situation you guys would totally be killing each other very soon. On the other hand..." Her manic grin gave way to a rather somber look, "All it takes is one little deviation, and all of that would tumble down, like it never even existed."

Hajime frowned, "Junko..."

She shook her head with a sad smile, "No, it's fine. As I was saying," She pointed at me, "Like you, you're unpredictable. I can tell you're going to play the role of the selfless class president who charges into danger to rescue her friends, but I can't tell how you're going to do it, at least not this early in the game. What face will you make if you find a dead body? Will you dive right into the investigation? Will you hesitate when it comes time to convict a friend?

"Sometimes, I like to just... go to the park and sit down, and then I'll watch all the people. A month ago I saw a rich man scoff at a begger asking for money, then a few days later I saw another rich man give him a hundred dollars and a warm coat. People are life's ultimate gamble, its biggest chance game. They could be on the edge of despair, ready to give up, and then suddenly..." She brought her hands together, and then spread them out to mock an explosion, "An explosion of hope, a second wind. I find that... more fascinating than anything I've ever seen in my life."

"You should write a book," I said.

"Hahahaha! That is such bullshit! That is exactly what I was talking about. That complete fucking non-sequiter out of nowhere."

I frowned, "I mean it."

She grinned, "And that's the best part."

I turned to Hajime, "So Hinata-kun, what are you good at?"

Hajime laughed, "Compared to her? Absolutely nothing."

"He's good at reasoning and deduction," said Junko offhandedly, once again sinking into the table. "I shall call him Mini-Me."

Hajime frowned, "Very funny."

I rested my head on my arm and smiled, "Do you like video games?"

"Yeah."

"You ever play Gala Omega?"

"Y-yeah..."

Holy crap, no way. I leaned forward even more, "It's a total classic, right!?" I stood up and slammed my hands on the table. "I once played it ten times in a row!"

Hajime's jaw dropped, "T-ten!? Well..." He scratched his cheek, "I guess I've got no room to be surprised. I played it five in a row myself."

"No way! I've never met anyone that can go more than once!"

Junko giggled, "You might wanna rephrase that."

I snapped my mouth shut and sat down, heat rising to my face.

I wish I had my hoodie.

"W-well, it's nice to run into someone here who plays video games."

"I guess I'm just chopped liver, then," grumbled Junko.

"No... no, I would never say that. You've both been so great. Ever since I woke up in this weird place, you've both been supporting me. I want us to keep being friends."

Hajime smiled, and when I looked back to Junko she had turned back to me as well, sporting a smile of her own. "Awww that's sweet," she said.

"I'd like that too," said Hajime.

 **"Grrrr, what is this mushy friendship crap!?"**

A weird bouncing sound, that's what I heard.

When the three of us turned to look near the entrance of the break room, there was Monokuma.

"While you're sitting here babbling about friendship I bet there's already someone getting ready to kill all three of you! Be more guarded, more paranoid!"

Junko rolled her eyes, "Sloppy. If you wanted to sew paranoia you would take advantage of our personalities and push us towards distrusting each other."

Monokuma growled.

Hajime laughed nervously, "Junko, I don't think it's a good idea to give our kidnapper ideas to improve their plan."

"Boooorrrring."

Monokuma sighed, putting his hands behind his back, "Awww man, what's a bear gotta do to get some respect around here? I feel like I've been reduced to a punch line. What happened?"

Junko stood from the table and pushed her chair in, dusting off her skirt, "You underestimated your prey. I mean, just look at this shit. Even if the killing starts, we're establishing trust and friendships in small groups. In the worst case scenario, one group makes it out alive, best case, our small groups expand into one large group, and most or all of us make it out. Not to mention, what's with the bear? Is it about the contrast of a cute mascot character causing all these killings? That would get old pretty fast."

Monokuma turned towards Junko. "I see how it is," he said. "Well, if you don't want me around I guess I'll just leave! Upupupupu, you should be ready, though. I mean, just in case."

With another strange bouncing sound, Monokuma had disappeared.

"Don't get me wrong!" shouted Junko at the camera, "I'm impressed with the setup, but you need to work on the punchline!"

I couldn't help but giggle. "Wow, you weren't kidding about being able to play people."

Junko grinned and scratched her cheek, "Well, there's a living, breathing human behind that murder bear, might as well take advantage of it."

 ***Ding Dong Bing Bong***

I looked up. "Another announcement?"

 _"Ahem, attention employees, it is now night time. Sleep tight, and sweet dreams."_

"Well," said Hajime, "The rules didn't say anything about a curfew, but I am getting kind of tired."

"Yeah," I said, "Let's go check out the floor Kuzuryu-kun told us about."

* * *

 _What, you expect me to say something divine or inspiring?_

 _Well, too bad. I'm in a bad mood now.  
_

 _Here's a message from our sponsors, Bloody Oats, more blood than any other oats._


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